Sunday, May 27, 2012

I finally got my hand on the DOA 5 demo and I have to say, I am IMPRESSED. I really wish the Ninja Gaiden team had been able to expand on the formula while maintaining the integrity of the series/game play in the way that the DOA team has. I mean, sure, the counter system was nerfed to a degree, and I know the power moves have left the community divided, but I think that for non tournament players, the game will prove to be a success. It is VERY fun, runs smoothly, looks good, and seems to have once again hit the balance between playability and depth in such a way that I believe no other series has.

I know many will disagree, and that is completely understandable, but I for one have always thought DOA was the best of the 3D fighting games and DOA5 seems like it is going to continue that trend for me.

If you are a fan of DOA and you are worried that this one has been screwed up, especially given the travesty that is Ninja Gaiden 3, rest assured that the DOA you know and love seems to be intact.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

This video shows you how to complete that initial puzzle (door lock puzzle) found in the RE:R demo in a matter of seconds (once the screws are removed) by making just 2 moves:

If you have played this demo, what do you think of it?

Also, if you answer this, could you add whether or not you consider yourself a fan of the Resident Evil games, and if so, which ones do you prefer? The old school survival horror ones with tank controls, puzzles a-plenty, static camera angles and limited ammo, or the new school ones (Resident Evil 4 and 5).

Personally, RE6 will most likely turn out to be a far better game, technically, than Revelations, but I think Revelations will succeed where RE6 will likely fail: At being a damn RE game! I hope I am wrong, but I think 6 is going to stray even farther from the series' roots than 5 did, and while 5 was a great game in its own right, it was an abomination of an RE game :(

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Here is definitive proof that Dead Rising Case Zero is indeed intended to act as a demo (as previously discussed HERE and in more detail, HERE). It was a replacement for the traditional free demo model and Capcom would like to use this going forward:

IGN: Case Zero came out just a few days back. Do you think releasing a paid-for prologue is a better idea than a free demo?

unless Capcom changes their mind and releases Case Zero for free (fat chance!!), I am NOT getting it, and I suggest to any Dead Rising fans reading this that they leave it be as well, and send Capcom a message:

We will not pay for demos, assholes!
Yes, Dead Rising Case Zero is a demo. It's a demo and it's a damn ripoff!

This sentiment was based on, as I explain, the information released at the time (2 hours of gameplay, $20), my natural sceptical nature, Capcom's track record, and some video evidence for the gametime and price, as well as a developer and journalist both calling it a demo (all in the blog).

Sunday, February 28, 2010

This blog is regarding my night last night. I am quite tired atm, in pain, and not feeling all that concerned with form, so I'm just sort of blahing on the page, so forgive any grammatical or other sorts of mistakes, and forgive the lackadaisical (is that even a word?) writing style......

Okay, on to my night!!

Allow me to set the scene:

A nice, long, romantic walk?

Check.

Romanitc dinner, featuring:

Candles?

Check.

Wine?

Check.

Great food?

Check.

Okay, so far so good. So, we head to the living room, start a fire, get comfortable, and then he tells me, dude.....I'm going to let you play with it tonight.

And so, having said that, I leaned over, looked him deep in the eyes, and said ''Okay, turn it on for me.'' I then grabbed the sleek, beautiful controller on the little table next to him, faced the tv, and watched that PS3 logo hit the screen.

It was game time.

It was PS3 time.

It had been far too long (a month or so).

The following is the tale of this Wii60 gamer's one night stand with a Sony Playstation 3. All names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Okay, so I'm settled in, I have my hands wrapped around that sleep PS3 controller (seriously, wtf is with those triggers though......yikes. They always bug me) and the only question left is, what to play?

Heavy Rain demo, duh.

*boots up heavy rain demo*

Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awes-

What the fuck? R2 to walk?

Huh?

Um.....k......what?

....

Okay, let's just keep playing.......

Okay, walking along, nice fucking visuals btw, walking along......okay, wtf? I have to hold down 3 buttons to shimmy behind a dumpster? Is this somehow more immersive? I don't get it......Oi, alright, fine....let's keep playing....

Okay, couple of design choices that leave me perplexed, but all in all, quite the unique experience. I'm intruiged. Wish I had the full game to play. Can't wait to borrow PS3 down the road, this will be the first game I play through.

Friend is very excited, downloads demo. I must now hand over controller....*sigh*

Friend plays demo twice, laughing like a schoolgirl all the way through. I must admit that it was pretty fucking impressive, even though, yet again, the combat is lacking, but I don't say this, let him have his moment.

I get the controller back, and alright, fuck it, might as well try GOW3, eevn though I'm not a fan.

I debate on what to play, swearing to myself that I am goign to stay away from Ninja Gaiden Sigma, because last time I had the PS3 to myself, I played Ninja Gaiden Sigma for 5 hours and didn't even get to play any of the other games I still haven't got to play, like Resistance.

And I'm playing Ninja Gaiden Sigma.......

*sigh*

But it's so awesome.....yes but you have all of the ninja gaiden's, it's still the same game, play somehting original.....ya but, no but, ya but.....ah shut up

*keeps playing, huge smile on face*

And I'm off to bed.

*goes to bed*

End of One Night Stand

Okay, so allow me to give a half assed ''review'' if you will of each demo. Keep in mind, I say review very lightly. I'm not putting on my review hat for these. Just a quick paragraph or two, and totaly informal ones at that.

Heavy Rain

So, despite some cumbersome and clunky controls (and a really fucking curious decision to have a walk button), the iffy floating/circular thoughts, and a few moments of weak dialogue and voice acting (which for the most part are both strong) Heavy Rain ended up being pretty damn awesome. I'm really looking forward to experiencing the full thing. I won't be able to for a few months, however, so I must avoid spoilers at all costs, so no Heavy Rain message board.

I rate the Heavy Rain demo a very solid 7.5/10. It was a decent length, definitely left me wanting more, and the game is solid, but the few few issues I mentioned really detracted from the experience for me.

Keep in mind, however, that in my scale, a 7.5 is pretty damn good.

God of War 3

God of War 3 is quite the experience......to watch. I actually really enjoyed watching my friend play it (despite the fact that he's a button masher, even by GOW standards). Sick ass enemy designs, nice graphics, awesome backgrounds/landscapes, visceral as hell finishers, sweet music....OH! and did I say awesome enemy designs? Seriously, when that Minotaur appeared, even this jaded motherfucker named magx let out an ''OH COOL!!!!'' (And then watched my friend get pwnd by it......*Sigh*).

Anyways, yes, GOW3 seems to excell in all of the areas the other ones do: the presentation, design, intensity, etc. But the combat, and I'm sorry GOW fans, I'm not saying it's terrible, but to me, it's lackluster. It looks good, but it's really quite lacking by my standards, and frankly, for the standards of the genre. The entire system needs to be reworked, and that actually reminds me, they didn't seem to have expanded it very much for this game, but it is a demo, so I won't make a final proclamation on that point.

I also guess in a way that it makes sense for what they are trying to convey. I suppose that Kratos zooming around the screen like Ryu or Bayonetta wouldn't make much sense, but they still could add some combo variety, give him more leeway in terms of cancelling stun properties and animations (like the roll), add a few extra luanchers and aerial moves to add some more emphasis on, and variety to, aerial combat (which my friend never once even used...wtf) and tighten up the evasive manouver (new button map, scrap the current animation in favour of a new, faster one. The AI also needs some work.

But that's just me.

I rate the GOW3 demo a 5.5/10 to play, and a 9/10 to watch. That shit was really fun to watch. I might just watch him play the full game when it releases lol.

Oh, and the ending......hehehehe. I had a feeling they'd hold back on the bosss fight, and they did. My friend got so excited when he saw Kratos come flying out of that ventilation shaft and zone in on that (awesome looking btw) bosses head....and when the demo suddenly ended his face was absolutely pricelss. I think he stared at the screen in silence for a full minute, with his mouth agape and a faraway look in his eyes......hehehehehe.

Oh, and of course, I rate my time with Ninja Gaiden Sigma an 11/10.

Oh, shit, almost forgot. In the morning (I crashed at his place) we downloaded the Yakuza 3 demo, and I got my first taste of Yakuza. Suffice it to say, I hope somebody makes a proper 3D beat em up one day.......

I rate Yakuza an underwhelming and clunky combat/10.

Is it so hard to do good combat in a 3D beat em up, people? I mean, come on, they can't just copy the formula of something like Dynamite Cop or God Hand?